In Rajya Sabha, Chidambaram’s 5 Bold Demands Challenges Sitharaman’s Budget

Picture source: ANI

A day after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the Union Budget 2024, Congress MP P Chidambaram put forth five demands during his address in Rajya Sabha. Chidambaram had served as Finance Minister under the Congress-led UPA II government.

Chidambaram called on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party to implement a daily minimum wage of Rs 400 and legally guarantee the Minimum Support Price (MSP), a key demand of farmers who have been protesting since 2000.  

Additionally, he urged the Centre to write off the interest on the unpaid balance of education loans issued up to March 2024. He also demanded the complete abolition of the Agniveer scheme and called for the scrapping of NEET, with an exemption for states that choose not to implement it.  

I have five demands!

Five demands that I would urge the Finance Minister to copy from our manifesto.

I demand this, and I would like answers. If you don't, it's not like these demands will die down. They will echo everywhere in India, where the INDIA bloc has a right to speak.… pic.twitter.com/8bC1Rf6NQa — Congress (@INCIndia) July 24, 2024

Meanwhile, Chidambaram mockingly asked Sitharaman to copy some more from their election manifesto. He said, “I would urge the honourable finance minister to copy these from our manifesto.”  

The remark referred to accusations that the 2024 Union Budget incorporates schemes originally proposed by the opposition party in its manifesto for the upcoming general election without giving them credit.  

Chidambaram claimed that he wants these questions to be addressed as soon as possible. He added that if these queries are ignored, “these demands will echo not only in this chamber but throughout the country until you concede these demands.”